Provincial Priory of London

Issue 7 Spring 2004KNIGHTLY OPICSTEditorial

Welcome Bro Knights to Founder, Kt David J Broxup, describes the eventsIssue 7 of Knightly Top-ics. You may wonder at

its size of 8 pages and so do I! But itis due to the magnificent response I’vehad for features and Simon’s generos-ity in supplying the printed issue. Irang him - he was in Malta at the time- and asked if I could have an extra 2pages. “Can’t be done” he said “you’llhave to have 4 extra”. So here we arewith a bumper edition. Please keep thefeatures flowing.There has been an abundance of newPreceptory banners being dedicated inthe last year or so King Edward VII,Empress and now Coromandel. R E KtDavid Williams’ interesting oration onthe origins and use of banners con-cludes in this issue and to clarify theodd terms in use we now have an arti-cle on Vexillology which, according tothe Oxford dictionary, is “a study offlags”.Do send me your Preceptory history,customs and events in letters or fea-tures with photographs if possible.

Please write to me by January 15th forinclusion in the Spring issue and June

14th for the Autumn issue.

George Hodge, Ithaca, WarrenLane, Finchampstead, Wok-

ingham, RG40 4HSTel & Fax: 0118 973 0966george-hodge@lineone.net

On the 16th May 2003 at MarkMasons Hall in London theSupreme Grand Master Leslie

Felgate Dring GCT consecrated theWaller Rodwell Wright Preceptoryand Priory No 640. The installing of-ficer R E Kt A J Day,Provincial Prior for Lon-don, and the rest of theconsecrating officers as-sisting him, carried out theceremony with dignity.At the invitation of the RE Kt A J Day, ProvincialPrior for London, Founding EminentPreceptor E Kt Nicholas Peter Georgewas invited to take the chair in the pres-ence of 36 founding Knights and 72 of-ficers and guests, assembled from far andwide.After the Preceptory was consecrated RE Kt Norman G Bliss, Provincial Priorfor Oxon, Berks and Bucks performedthe subsequent Banner Dedication cere-mony in grand style. The ceremony wasattended by 108 Knights and invitedguests who afterwards gathered to bewined and dined in true Knights Templarfashion.Style and sincerity characterised the in-augural meeting, attended by the grandtotal of 30 founding Knights, on Satur-day 4th October 2003 in The Masonic

Hall in Valletta. Two Knights wereinstalled at the meeting and a further twoKnights the following Tuesday. Severalmore candidates have already been pro-posed and seconded, ready to be in-stalled at the meetings in 2004 along

with several joiningKnights.The 'Ladies of theKnights' - a title claimedby the wives and part-ners accompanying anumber of the Knights -also enjoyed coach ex-

cursions organised to explore Malta'shistoric past and visit her sister island,Gozo. Exotic dinners and a relaxingatmosphere extended into the earlyhours.Brother Knights will always have awarm welcome from the Preceptory asvisitors or joining members and will, Iam sure, enjoy visiting the lovely islandof Malta in the heart of the Mediterrane-an. The Preceptory is based in Maltaand will meet on the first Saturday inMay and the first Saturday in October atThe Masonic Hall, 6-7 MarsamxettStreet, Valletta, Malta GC.For further details please contact ourRegistrar, Kt Graham Perry, SpinneyHill, 54 Buckingham Road, Bletchley,Milton Keynes, MK3 5HL.

leading to the establishment of a Preceptory that meets in Malta

KT on the Island of Malta

Address by the Right Eminent Provincial Prior - 2003

I have already welcomed the official Officers for the work they are going to ceremony. Christian now carries aguests of the Province for their undertake for the good of us all.attendance and whilst it may be I must also thank all those who have

said that they put the icing on the cake worked so hard to make today a successby their presence here it is worth the especially the Provincial Vice-Chancel-thought that if the members of the Prov- lor and the Provincial Marshal. It is Provincial Priory were entertained at theince itself were not to attend in good always a fight to get arrangements made Centenary meeting of King Edward VIInumbers and with enthusiasm then there on time but that is part of life in a Prov- Preceptory No 173. This was a finewould be no cake to ice and so I thank ince.you each and every one for your support During the last year the Province hastoday.The impending Constitution of the Met-ropolitan Grand Lodge and Chapter ofLondon taking place at the Albert Hallin two days time will have adverselyaffected the attendance here today. Ifyou are going to support the LondonCraft and Chapter meeting but have nev-ertheless come along today to lendweight to this meeting then you are dou-bly welcome and my gratitude to you isthat much greater.One of the most colourful parts of ourAgenda is the parade of the PreceptoryBanners. This item is under the direc-tion of the Provincial Sub-Prior, EddieGoodwin who has continued the workpreviously undertaken by David Wil-liams and I congratulate him on thesuccess of his efforts. This item is al-ways difficult to arrange and this yearhas proved no exception. Whilst talk-ing of Eddie Goodwin, I congratulatehim on behalf of the Province on attain-ing the Office of Great Registrar inGreat Priory.I must not forget to congratulate thoseKnights of the Province whom I haveeither promoted in Provincial Rank orInvested with Office today. Those whohave active rank, especially the fourA-de-C’s, the Sword Bearer and theBanner Bearer, will have a good oppor-tunity to show their worth in the OfficialVisits made to our Preceptories in thecoming year. I thank all the Provincial

again been very active. In January 2003our newly acquired Preceptory Coro-mandel No.73 installed 18 FrenchKnights into the Order in preparation forthe Constitution of the new Great Prioryof France. Coromandel carried out itsduty in a splendid way on a very snowySaturday morning in January 2003 andearned the approbation of the severalmembers of Great Priory who attended.As a result of this, several seniorKnights of this Province were invited tojoin the Great Priory team to travel toParis for the Constitution of that GreatPriory in July. Between us we carriedout three difficult ceremonies and as-sisted in the forming of that Great Prio-ry. Others Knights including some ofour guests here today were pressed intoservice as Installing Officers, Consta-bles, Heralds and other positions need-ing to be filled. It was hard work butgreat fun. Dick Fogwill, our BodyguardCommander was Sword Bearer, BannerBearer and Herald and two of our Body-guard (Keith Bates and David Phythian)inserted themselves into the Grand Mas-ters Bodyguard. You can read about thisin Knightly Topics, the newssheet pub-lished by George Hodge.It is also worthy of note that our goodfriend Christian Pajolec a long timemember of our Preceptory of Galileewas made a Knight Commander of theTemple in the new Great Priory. I wasprivileged to have a small part in his

Right Eminent rank and we extend ourcongratulations to him.In October of 2002 the Most Eminent &Supreme Grand Master and officers of

meeting arranged by E Kt Joe Small.The Festive Board was something of arevelation to the Grand Master but hewas still smiling at the end and said thathe had enjoyed himself.We have another Centenary meetingnext month when Empress PreceptoryNo 178 will celebrate their birthday.Sadly the Grand Master will be recover-ing from an extended Masonic visit tothe Far East and will not be able to comealong. Instead I have been asked topresent the Centenary Warrant and todedicate the Preceptory’s new Banner.Joe Small is again organizing affairs andthe Preceptory will be pleased to wel-come any Brother Knight who wishes toattend.My Bodyguard, commanded by DickFogwill, attends these meetings. Theyprovide an escort at all Official Visits.Dick organizes them extremely well andwe owe them a great debt of gratitude.Brother Knights, time prevents me fromsaying more today. We work quietly –we work well. We have had a greatyear in this young Province and we havemade a lot of progress. It may interestyou to know that the number of Knightsin the Province now stands at over onethousand. A big Province but a veryhappy one, and this all stems from theenthusiasm of our members.Thank you for your support. Keep upthe good work and let us go on to evengreater things in the future.

So what has all this to do with thebanner we see before us today?

You have after all been in existence for100 years and have managed withoutone for well over 50 years. All verytrue, but I would suggest to you, it is asa result of your predecessors exhibitingthat same dedication and fortitude tothe Preceptory symbolised in theattitude of the crusading KnightsTemplar to their banner and ofthe thousands of first world warsoldiers to their flag.V E Kt A J Collins wrote in 1952that at one time it was the cus-tom for the Past Preceptors ofKing Edward VII to providethemselves with their appropri-ate banners and as the Precep-tory met on the eve of GreatPriory, these together with thoseof other distinguished knightswould adorn the walls, creatingas he put it “a never-to-be-for-gotten scene”. At the same timehe expressed a hope that someinterested Knight might bring tolight these and the PreceptoryBanner. This has obviously nothappened and so after 50 oddyears, we have a new banner to bededicated. The Preceptory is indebtedto the King Edward VII Preceptory ofImprovement for their generosity inpresenting the new banner and to E KtTony King for his inspired design. Isuspect that Tony will be surprised tolearn just how inspired that design is.The motif on the banner would appearto be based on the Scottish rule ofGrand Quartering and it bears four em-blems associated with the United Or-

ders. In the first quarter we have apupure field on a Maltese Cross argentbetween four lions passant d’or. TheMaltese Cross needs no explanation; itis set against a background of purple,the majestic colour of justice. The lion,the king of beasts represents strength,courage, generosity and valour.

In the second quarter we have argenton a cross gules between four rosesgules and a dove, one of the sacredsymbols of the Order. The colourwhite signifies peace and sincerity; thered cross denotes courage & militaryfortitude combined with benevolence& magnanimity.The third quarter is azure on which isthe Pascal Lamb, another of our sacred

symbols. Blue of course is one of thecolours that signify loyalty & truth.The fourth quarter is purpure on achevron of ermine between three Fleur-de-lis d’or, and a cock, the third of oursacred symbols. The chevron is a sym-bol of protection; ermine of nobilityand the Fleur-de-lis denotes valour,

faith & wisdom.Rather appropriately there is,at the head, the heraldic hel-met of a knight. As well asthe obvious connection KingEdward was a Knight of theGarter and the ImperialCrown surmounts the whole.So this new banner incorpo-rates many of the attributeswhich characterise ourUnited Orders – courage,strength, valour, fortitude,protection, loyalty, nobility,magnanimity sincerity, be-nevolence, generosity, wis-dom, faith and truth.May this banner be a visualreminder of what you standfor together with all of us inthis Christian Order, and mayit be a rallying point, at which

with the aid of the Great Captain ofour Salvation and through our cere-

monies and symbols we become moreworthy of the service to which He hascalled us and in which He maintains us.

Banner Dedication - Part 2Concluding the feature from the last issue given by R E Kt David Williams, KCT

which outlined the history of the banner used as a rallying pointand to distinguish friend from foe

As reported by the Provincial Prior on page 2, a number of Knights were invited to assist in the Constitution of thenew Great Priory of France in June 2003. David Phythian, one of The Provincial Bodyguard and a member of

Coromandel Preceptory No 73, compiled this précis of events

The Inauguration of the Great Priory of France

On Wednesday 25th June the participants journeyed to The Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master and theParis on Eurostar and made their way to the modern Great Vice Chancellor were in attendance at all the meet-and purpose-built headquarters of G.L.N.F. in rue ings, as was the Great Marshal and the Great Prelate. The

Christine de Pisan in the North West of the City.This first ceremony was a closed affair with only EnglishKnights in attendance, with one necessary exception, for theevening’s work was to install the Grand Master Designateof France, Jean-Charles Foellner, in the Malta Degree.Certain items of KT regalia were lent to him for the ceremo-ny, including a mantle proudly sporting the badge of theLondon Provincial Prior’s Bodyguard!After rehearsals, the Chapter was opened by the R E KtDavid Ivor Williams, with the Most Eminent and SupremeGrand Master in attendance. R E Kt John Tuckey fulfilledhis normal role as Great Marshal. Other London Knightstaking part were:

Pentagonal TableR E.Kt David Ivor Williams Eminent PriorR E Kt Alfred John Day Lieutenant General

Octagonal TableE Kt Richard Fogwill HospitallerV E Kt Eddie Goodwin Admiral(having already conferred the degree of Knight of StPaul and the Mediterranean Pass)E Kt Keith Bates ChancellorKt David Phythian TreasurerAfter the ceremony, a buffet was provided for the knightstaking part and their ladies. Some knights then went alongto a concert of Mozart, including the Requiem, which wasbeing held for charity, by the G.L.N.F at Salle Gaveau.

On Thursday 26th June the work of the day was to consecratethree new Preceptories under the Great Priory of Englandand Wales, which would be subsequently transferred to theGrand Prieuré of France when it was inaugurated the nextafternoon. The ceremonies all took place in the very impres-sive and modern Grand Temple in the basement of thebuilding.The format for all the ceremonies was the same and broadlycomprised:

· Consecrating Officer enters, appoints his officers,opens a Preceptory of the Order and states theobject of the meeting.

· The Preceptory is then consecrated with Corn,Wine and Oil, each involving solemn prayer andthe perambulation of the petitioners. The GreatPrelate carries the Censer and lights the candles onthe Sepulchre. The Consecrating Officer conse-crates the Standards and they are placed in thewest. The Preceptory is then dedicated and conse-crated, then concluded with proclamations fromthe Heralds (first English then French) and solemnprayer.

· The Installing Officer installs the Preceptor Desig-nate. The other officers are then invested, electedand appointed as appropriate.

· Any other business including the confirmation ofthe by-laws and the election of honorary members. of Steel, of several Grand Masters from other constitutions.

Consecrating Officers, Installing Officers and the Londonknights that assisted were as follows:

Saint-Louis Preceptory No. 642M E & S Grand Master Consecrating OfficerR E Kt Trevor Gulliver Installing OfficerE Kt Richard Fogwill Standard Bearer Vexillum Belli(also acting as Herald)Kt Ian Brookes Escort KnightE.Kt Keith Bates acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of SteelKt David Phythian acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of Steel

Montjoye Saint-Denis Preceptory No. 643R E Kt Alfred John Day Consecrating OfficerV E Kt Eddie Goodwin Installing OfficerE.Kt Richard Fogwill Sword BearerKt Ian Brookes Escort KnightE.Kt Keith Bates acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of SteelKt David Phythian acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of Steel

Saint Gilles Preceptory No. 644R E Kt Keith Breading Consecrating OfficerE.Kt Keswick Jones Installing OfficerR E Kt Alfred John Day First ConstableE.Kt Richard Fogwill Standard Bearer Vexillum Belli

(also acting as Herald)Kt Ian Brookes Escort KnightE.Kt Keith Bates acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of SteelKt David Phythian acting Grand Master’s Body

guard – Arch of Steel

Malta DegreeFriday 27th June, our last day, was also busy. The firstceremony, in the morning took place in the Grand Templeand was to give the Malta degree to twenty-eight FrenchKnights. The offices on the Pentagonal and OctagonalTables were filled by the same participants as the meetingon Wednesday. V E Kt Eddie Goodwin again delivered theDegree Knight of St Paul and the Mediterranean Pass.

Inauguration of The Great Priory of FranceThe second ceremony on Friday, the raison d’etre for allthat had gone before, was the Inauguration of the GrandPrieuré des Ordres Unis Maçonniques, Religieux et Mili-taires du Temple et de Saint-Jean de Jerusalem, Palestine,Rhodes et Malte pour la France.The early afternoon, after lunch, comprised rehearsing theofficers for the Inauguration by the Great Marshall. Theceremony started at 4 p.m. with the entrance, under an Arch

The Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master acted as theConstituting and Installing Officer and the Great Vice Chan-cellor, Great Marshal and Great Prelate filled their usualroles. A detailed order of service for this most historicceremony is to be found in the summons to the meeting.Broadly, however, the order of events was:

· The Constituting and Installing Officer enters,opens a Chapter of Great Priory and is saluted witheleven.

· After an address from the Constituting Officer anda prayer from the Great Prelate, the Great Priory ofFrance is Constituted and Proclaimed.

· The knights of the Great Priory of France approvetheir statutes and elect a Grand Master.

· The Grand Master Elect (who was outside theChapter) is escorted in and addressed by the Install-ing Officer.

· After supplicating the Blessing of the Holy Trinity,the Grand Master Elect enters into a solemn en-gagement, is invested and installed by the InstallingOfficer.

· His Banner is placed and he is saluted with eleven.· The Constituting Officer then “will waive jurisdic-

tion over, and transfer the allegiance of the threePreceptories” to the Great Priory of France.

· The new Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Masternow invests and installs the Very High and RightEminent Great Seneschal designate (who was also

outside the Chapter) into office. His Banner is thenplaced and he is saluted.

· The remaining business of The Great Priory ofFrance is then conducted, including investing/electing the Great Officers and giving honoraryPast Great rank to the English Knights who pre-sided over the three days’ work.

In terms of London participation, R E Kt Alf Day and V EKt Eddie Goodwin acted as Cushion Bearers (once somecushions had been found!). E Kt Richard Fogwill acted asCaptain of Guards and E Kt Keith Bates and Kt DavidPhythian continued to assist the Grand Master’s Bodyguardin the Arch of Steel.The day (and week) was then rounded off with a dinner withthe ladies at the Meridien Hotel at Porte Maillot.In addition to the Knights previously mentioned, E Kt BillCoates, E Kt Tony Clarke and E Kt Jeremy Burnett-Raeprovided strong support and representation.

From the perspective of the writer, this was a hard work-ing and historic three days that rewarded the participantsfar more than the effort put in. The memory of it will re-main forever. It is hard to imagine how the EnglishKnights could have presented a more experienced and

professional impression to the new French Knights. Themasonic commitment of all those who made the three days

happen cannot be doubted.

The word "vexillology" refers to the study of flags. Heraldry. As some heraldic terms will be used in this articleGreek texts dating from the fifth Century B C refer (and they are also widely misused) it is as well to defineto Admirals displaying purple flags on their ships. them first.

Persian armies were led into action by a bearer carrying a An Achievement comprises some or all of the followingRed flag hanging from a cross bar attached to a pole. The elements:Romans adopted the idea for their Cavalry, each unit having 1. A Shield on which is displayed the Arms of the owner;a "Vexillum" which comprised a piece of red cloth (with a 2. A Helmet, and/or hat, indicating the Rank of the owner;heavy fringe) displaying the name of the unit, its emblem, 3. Mantling in the principal livery colours of the owner;or occasionally a portrait of the current Emperor. Amongst 4. On top of the Helmet is placed the Crest of the owner;these was the Labarum of Constantine the Great, which 5. The Shield may rest on an appropriate Ground;displayed, on a field of Imperial Purple, the "Chi Rho" 6. The Shield may have Supporters on either side;symbol in gold.There are a wide variety of flags used for different purposes.Their various names and uses have been well establishedover many years. Unfortunately the majority of peoplefrequently use incorrect terminology when referring to anyparticular flag - Masonic organisations being amongst theworst offenders in this regard. This short article provides abrief description of terms, which are frequently encoun-tered, and indicates the apparent correct usage of each. Thismay also produce an outraged response from VexillologicalSociety members pointing out errors.The design of Flags is closely interlinked with the rules of

7. The owner’s Motto (which may be in any language).The Badges of any decorations may be suspended from theAchievement and the Arms may be superimposed on theBadge of an Order or encircled by a depiction of the Collarof an Order.An Armigerous person may also be granted the right to oneor more personal Badges, which can be worn by his/herfollowers.There are at least 65 different types of flag, but only a fewof the principal ones concern us.A Pennon is a small triangular flag affixed to the end of aKnights lance, displaying his Arms so that they appear

VexillologyE Kt John W Mitchell, PPGHer, of the Annus Mirabilis Preceptory No 206 writes:

upright when hanging from a lance, which is extendedhorizontally. In Britain since Tudor times it has beencustomary for the Pennon to show the livery colours of theBearer surmounted by a Badge. When a Knight was promot-ed, the tip of the Pennon was cut off to leave a rhomboidknown as a Banneret; he thus became a Knight Banneret,from which the modern title of Baronet has been derived.Pennants are extremely long thin triangular or swallowtailed flags, which were originally designed for use at sea.Nowadays they are frequently used on land for a variety ofpurposes.Banners are Square or Rectangular (height greater thanwidth) depicting the Arms of the owner (sometimes on abackground of the livery colours).Banners were carried into battle or in procession immedi-ately behind the owner so that his followers could locate himeasily. A stiffening bar could be affixed to the top of thebanner to hold it away from the pole, to make identificationeasier. For indoor use Banners are nowadays frequentlysuspended from a cross bar. Masonic Standard Bearers carryBanners.An Ensign is a flag depicting National Arms flown from thestern of a ship.A Jack is a similar flag flown from the Jack Staff at the bowof a ship. When visiting a foreign country it is customary fora ship to fly a courtesy flag from the yardarm of the shipsmast depicting the arms of that country.A Gonfanon was originally a large square lance flag withtails, carried by the ruler when leading his Army. Its nameis derived from the Norse gunn-fane meaning war flag.A Gonfalon is an extremely long flag, either square or withtails hung from a cross bar, depicting the owners Arms andlivery. These are subject to a separate Grant of Arms andwere originally hung from top of the mast of the owner’s

ship, with ends of the tails hanging in the water. The persongranted the right to fly a Gonfalon being known as a Gonfal-oniero. A typical Gonfalon, well over 50 feet in length, canbe seen in the old hospital in Toledo.In modern times both Gonfanon and Gonfalon have beenused to indicate any large flag hanging from a cross bar andbearing the Achievement or Arms of a non-military organi-sation, be it a company, civic corporation or trade union.A House Flag depicts the owners’ badge, crest or achieve-ment on a background of one or more of the Livery Colours.In K T Preceptories, one Banner depicts the black and whiteArms of the Order, and a House Flag shows the (Red Cross)Badge. At least one book on heraldry depicts the Arms ofthe Knight Templars as being the Red Cross superimposedon the black and white livery colours.A Standard is a long thin tapering flag of heraldic designand subject to a grant of Arms. The length varies accordingto the rank of grantee and the country from which the grantwas obtained: In some countries a Knight's Standard was amere two and a half yards long, whereas in others a Sover-eign's Standard was as much as eight yards in length. Stand-ards are never carried, they always stand at a fixed rallyingpoint, or fly from a building or camp to show where theowner is located. The design of Standards varies accordingto the grant, but a typical Standard would display from thehoist; the Arms of the country, the Arms of the bearer and adescate tail in livery colours on which appears the bearer'sCrest, Motto and Badge(s). There is a very fine example inStationer's Hall in London, high on the wall directly oppo-site the flight of steps leading down into the Hall.Those interested in finding out more are recommended torefer to: The World Encyclopedia of FLAGS by AlfredZnamierowski and/or Heraldic Standards and other Ensignsby Lt. Col. Gayre of Gayre and Nigg.

The Empress Preceptory No To celebrate the centenary of this Pre- sented. The R E Provincial Prior then178 was consecrated at Mark ceptory a very successful meeting took dedicated the Preceptory banner. The

Masons Hall on 1st October place on Thursday 30 October 2003, Preceptory was closed and the Bro1903. The ceremony was conducted by just under a year later than the similar Knights retired to the Royal Overseasthe Most Eminent and Supreme Grand meeting of their twin Preceptory, King League to dine.Master the Earl of Euston, GCT and the Edward VII. The R E Provincial Prior After which the Registrar, Josephoration on the nature and principles of conducted the centenary celebration, Small, gave a huge sight of relief at thethe Order was given by the Chaplain, V during which V E Kt Graham Redman completion of his second centenary cel-E Kt Rev C E L Wright, MA, P Gt delivered a history of the Preceptory ebration and banner dedication in onePrelate. (To be published later) and the Centenary Warrant was pre- year.

The Empress Preceptory No 178 Centenary Meeting and Banner Dedication

Brother Knights, it is usual onthese occasions to give abroad description of the his-

tory of banners in general before pro-ceeding to describe the particularbanner in question. We have a very fullagenda today and most of us are famil-iar with the history and so I shall con-fine myself to a brief description of thebanner of the Coromandel Preceptory.I should say at the outset that this ban-ner has been donated by a BrotherKnight who wishes to remain anony-mous.The banner depicts both the origins andthe current situation of the Preceptory.On the dexter, or right-hand side fromthe position of the bearer of the shield,is shown the outline of the map ofIndia, the country of origin of the Pre-ceptory. The sinister, or left hand side,shows the location of the current homeof the Preceptory, here depicted byTower Bridge, well known as a Londonlandmark throughout the world.

The colours on the Indian side are im-portant because they correspond to thecolours on the flag of India, a tricolourof saffron, white and green. Saffronstands for courage, sacrifice and renun-ciation, white for purity and truth, andgreen for faith and fertility. In the cen-

tre of the flag is a wheel in navy blue toindicate Dharma Chakra, the wheel ofthe law in the Sarnath Lion Capital.This symbol, known as the Chakra is aBuddhist symbol dating back to 200

BC. It has 24 spokes, which are meantto indicate that there is life in move-ment and death in stagnation. Ratherappropriate really to the situation ofthis Preceptory. The vivid red line de-lineates the Coromandel Coast, whichruns from just north of Madras south-wards to the southernmost boundary ofTamil Nadu. The beach at Madras issaid to be the largest single expanse ofbeach in the world.The London side depicts the TowerBridge, with its centre spans raised asif to receive the device known as the“Sun in Splendour” symbolising therise in the fortunes of Coromandel Pre-ceptory and the welcome afforded it bythe Province of London. A furtherspread of influence and knowledgefrom east to west.May this Preceptory, which appears tohave been consecrated in India in 1828,and then known as the Encampment ofSt John of Jerusalem, long prosper inits new home and under its new banner.

The Coromandel Preceptory Banner

According to my records thereused to be seven Masonicunits in the group: the one

missing from your list being the Con-naught Army & Navy Cork Board.Somewhere in my archives I have amanuscript copy of the ConnaughtArmy and Navy Cork Board Ritualwhich was probably worked (prior tothe Festive Board) after meetings of theConnaught Army and Navy Lodge of

Mark Master Masons. The Lodge maystill have the original Cork Board War-rant amongst its records.There were at least fourteen MarkLodges in London which had CorkBoards pinned to them, all of whichceased working prior to the 1939/45war. The Grand Cork Board at thattime was under the Grand Mastershipof Lord Harris who did not like theDegree and set out to suppress it. As far

as I am aware the only pre-war CorkBoard which is still operational, is onein Lancashire, which meets once everytwo years.The Cork Lodges now working in Eng-land all use the Scottish Ritual, whichis similar to that previously used by theConnaught Army and Navy CorkBoard and includes the same secrets.

John W Mitchell

In response to the article on The Connaught Army & Navy Group published in the Autumn issueE Kt John Mitchell writes:

Letters (the first!)

At the Chapter of the Provin-cial Priory held on 29 Sep-tember 2003 E Kt Trevor

Dutt formally presented a new bible tothe Province. The Rt E Kt Alfred JohnDay, Provincial Prior, thanked E Kt

Dutt for his most kind gift which wouldenhance our future meetings.Later, at dinner, E Kt Dr John Norris ofMount Calvary Preceptory presentedtwo figures of knights wrought in pew-ter. These he had found in an antique

shop and considered them ideal to gracethe top table at Provincial Priory Din-ners. The Provincial Prior thanked himfor such a thoughtful gift and tasked ourProvincial Sub-Prior to display them onfuture occasions.

Presentations to Provincial Priory

Editor

2004

The History of the ProvinceThe Provincial Prior has decided to record and maintain the History of the Province in its first tenyears and also to include the two years previous to its formation when the Preceptories were formedinto two groups. To action this he has formed a small Committee, its members are:

R E Kt Jack Dribbell, KCT, E Kt Dai Davies, P Gt A-de-C and Kt Simon BrookmanThe Provincial Prior has charged Kt Simon Brookman with the task of accumulating as much materialas exists before memories become dim and important matter is lost. He especially asks and expectsthat all members of the Province and especially Preceptory Registrars past and present will assistSimon in his task. Simon can be contacted at home and on his mobile:

73 Canning Road, London, N5 2JR. Tel 07973 269 859

Great Priory (Temple) Wednesday 19 MayProv Priory (Temple) Monday 29 SeptemberGreat Priory (Malta) Tuesday 16 NovemberProv Carol Service Monday 13 DecemberLondinium Preceptory Wednesday 15 December

2005Prov Priory (Malta) Friday 7 January

The knights presented to Provincial Prioryby John Norris

Bible presented by Trevor Dutt